GeddyRulz

The Audible version dropped at 3:00 AM here on the east coast, and I started listening immediately. I also ordered the hardcover (if only for the pictures!), and that's supposed to arrive today.

They're not "new," per se. They were recorded for MY FAVORITE HEADACHE, in 2000. Yes, at the end. I just jumped ahead to look for them. They're called "Gone" and "I Am, You Are." Both are on the mellow side, really. Think "The Angel's Share" or "Still." Now back to where I left the narrative...

What am I reading? Geddy's autobiography, of course!

No thread yet on Geddy’s forthcoming memoir? I’ve been waiting with bated breath for it; it was supposed to be released mid-May, but now it’s November. (I think this date is true; it’s now got a cover and a title.) Should be good, and we’ll probably get a audiobook narrated by Ged himself. Who else is buying as soon as it’s released?

After 40 years of wanting one, I finally splurged and bought a Ric. I love it! I’m over the moon! I’ve had it for three days now and I’m only MORE happy with the purchase. Brand new. It was made the first week of 2023, and less than three months later it’s in my house.

Hejira is definitely one of my favorites from 1976. And possibly my favorite Joni album, period. Definitely my favorite Joni album. Jaco Pastorius is the man!

Where's the biggest Classic Rock album of the year: Frampton Comes Alive?

The first album? I think it’s still out there on the Net, but through “used” sellers.

On Christmas morning, Paradigm Blue made a new single (“The Optimist”) available for listening on the Internet, and announced that the full album (“Transist”) will be available in the spring. It’s finally finished! They also provided the album art, the track list, band bios, etc., at paradigmblue.net

I remember it as “It’s not nice to fool with Mother Nature!” They’d tricked “Mother Nature” into eating margarine passed-off as butter, and when they revealed they’d fooled her, that was her response. She also made a lightning crash, in her anger.

It’s a great piece, with Neil providing lots of autobiographical information. It was first published in the newspaper over 20 years ago, as “A Port Boy’s Story.” This same personal information (and much more) was later repeated in his book “Traveling Music,” which is my favorite of his books. Ironically, Neil was always the most private member of the band and yet - through his books and other writings - we know more personal details about him than those other two dudes.

I cried several times over the weekend... over Neil. And I cried Sunday night while watching the “Time Stand Still” documentary. It got me thinking, “Am I being ridiculous, crying over a rock drummer?” And I settled on NO, it’s not ridiculous. Neil was central to my life, especially in my youth. His words helped shape who I am. His death was like the death of my childhood; that needed to be mourned, too. And this isn’t the drummer of just ANY band we’re talking about: this is Rush, and there’s something very special about Rush. This isn’t the same old Sex, Drugs, and Rock n Roll; with Rush, there’s much more “there” there, and therefore more being lost. It’s okay to be upset about it.

Over the weekend I watched “Beyond the Lighted Stage” twice, and also watched the “Time Stand Still” doc. (Waterworks!) Song-wise: lots of randomized Rush, thanks to Alexa, Pandora, and Sirius XM. I made a point of playing “The Weapon,” and yesterday I played “La Villa” while following along with a “map” identifying when the various movements began and ended. I’d never done that before.

Regarding the Sirius XM thing, it’s NORMALLY the “deep cuts” channel (27), but has temporarily become the Neil Peart tribute channel... which means they’re playing Rush but not necessarily Rush deep cuts. Still, a good mix. Yes, I’ve heard Closer to the Heart, Limelight, and Subdivisions, but I’ve also heard Territories, Tears, Second Nature, Different Strings, Hand Over Fist, Here Again, and Kid Gloves. Seems there’s nothing they won’t play, and in the course of randomly playing the whole catalog some “hits” will also come up. I agree the “tribute” show from David Fricke was lame. (He even played a Zeppelin tune, under the pretense that “Neil was influenced by Zeppelin.” Mmkay.) I heard half the show and turned it off; too many Rush hits, and the biographical talk about Neil was stuff everyone knows... painting Neil in broad strokes. I’ll give Fricke this much credit: for years, he was the one guy at Rolling Stone who’d show Rush some respect.

Well said! I concur! (And I’m a huge fan of “Available Light,” too. Best song on Presto!)

I’m more affected by Neil’s passing than I would’ve thought. At about 4:35-4:40 this afternoon, as I was driving home and stopping to get gas, my sister texted me the news while simultaneously my wife CALLED to tell me. I got back on the road... and cried a bit, unexpectedly. There have been a few more moments of crying about it since. A bass player who was inspired to play bass because of Geddy and who always said Geddy was his favorite member of the band, I actually think Neil’s death has hit me harder than Geddy’s will, when that time comes. Neil was, in a way, the silent leader and catalyst of the band - it was his virtuosic drumming which inspired the others to become better on THEIR instruments , and his lyrics which gave the band its identity as the “thinking man’s” rock band. Those lyrics were not only intelligent, but positive and (ultimately) hopeful, even when first describing something negative. The intelligent lyrics helped educate me and many others. While some rock stars may steer teenagers towards drugs, Neil Peart steered us towards the library, inspiring us to track down the literary references and cerebral ideas Neil put into his lyrics. He (and his bandmates) was a great role model for young adults, not only writing in several of his songs about the importance of maintaining personal and artistic integrity, but always living his LIFE that way and setting an example we could emulate. I can say without hyperbole that Neil (and Rush) have helped make me who I am today, and I know I’m not alone. As Sebastian Bach said of his teenaged self and Rush, “Damn it, this band has got me all fired-up about LITERATURE!” Or as the young Brazilian woman on the “Rush in Rio” DVD tearfully said, “It’s not just music. They TEACH us!” And lastly, as Carol Selby Price wrote, “the only danger I was in when as a teenager I hunkered down to read and reread Rush’s lyrics was the ‘danger’ of catching the group’s infectious optimism. I took it seriously when they sang about clues to some real motivation, dragging your dream into existence. Listening, I became convinced that there was a future out there for me. That’s where I live now.” And that’s really just their LYRICS, just Neil Peart’s doing. I owe him tremendous gratitude for helping to shape my character and personality, for stressing (and showing by example) the importance of having integrity, and for awakening and amplifying my (then-) latent love for learning. So... I had lots of tears for Neil today, and I’m not convinced there’ll be as many for the death of my “favorite” Rush member, Geddy Lee. Thank you, thank you, thank you, Neil! You’ve educated and inspired us, as a great “Professor” should. O captain, my captain...!

Bottom 3 for me.

"Take On Me" is still the best video ever! First time I saw the video was the first time I ever heard the song, and it was at a theater, on a big screen, like a preview before the movie. I'll never forget seeing its ending that way, slamming against the walls and going back and forth between penciled animation and live action...

"Always With Me, Always With You" by Satriani. (Instrumental that evokes LOVE.) "More Than Words" by Extreme. Overplayed now, but an excellent love song. "In My Life" by the Beatles. "Can't Fight This Feeling" by REO Speedwagon.

Why pick on just the song, when (generally speaking) the overall ALBUM is one of their absolute weakest? "Dreamline" is one of their greatest tracks, but beyond that I think the album pretty much blows. Same with S&A: an awesome lead-off track ("Far Cry") followed by lots of blah. In my OPINION, of course.

I only just watched this today. Forked over $1.99 to watch on YouTube. Wanted an answer to the question "was Michael Chabon already a fan of Rush, before the interview?" Watching, I learned the answer to that is a big yes! Chabon was a Sci-Fi fan as a kid and bought "2112" when it came out; he's been a fan ever since. Compare this to Dan Rather's interview of Geddy, where I wonder the same thing but assume "No way! Dan Rather is 85 years old [at the time of the interview]!"

Hemispheres Prelude and Xanadu were both nice treats. And for some reason I thought the performance of Spirit of Radio was particularly good.

He can't! That's why I find it ironic that HE'S the one who actually wanted to keep touring! His voice is a better reason to retire than anything else. This movie was essentially my 16-year-old's "first Rush concert." Hearing Geddy singing like that, she must've been thinking "THIS is the band my father's been raving about?"

Agreed! Without future albums and tours, who could ask for anything more than this?

Thanks.....so that's it for $15? Sad how far the Rush fan base has fallen that we get so excited for a rehashed product that most of us already have. Hard to believe that just a decade ago, we still had three tours ahead of us.... Yeah, with no tours in the future, this is what it's come to. They've suggested this may become "annual" - theater events once a year, in lieu of tours. During audience participation songs (the clapping during Spirit of Radio, "heys" during 2112 Overture), my theater participated like they would've at the live concert. Is that kind of cool, kind of pathetic, or a bit of both? What if I confess that I started it? ;)